strongest warriors could carry. During the course of a visit which Smith and Newport paid to this monarch, they were on one occasion unable to dine with him, and Powhatan directed that bread and venison should be taken to them on board of their vessel, and the gift was found to be too much for the consumption of fifty men at one meal. When they proceeded to the residence of the king, they saw, as they drew near to the door, forty or fifty platters of bread arranged in regular lines on either side of the approaches. At Powhatan’s request, a short time subsequently, Smith ordered his men to enter the house in companies of two; each man as he came in was presented with four or five pounds of bread, and at the conclusion of the interview, each one was also given as much food as he could carry on his back. Smith himself received a large basketful, and Newport the same quantity. A few hours later the monarch set before Smith a supper which was too abundant for twenty men, and seeing that he could not devour it all, commanded that the remainder should be distributed among the English soldiers.[1]
Hamor, who also visited Powhatan, has left an interesting account of the character of the royal meals. The breakfast of the king and himself consisted of a large bowl of sodden peas and beans, and a mass of bread that would have been ample for a dozen persons; an hour later, boiled fish was served, and shortly afterwards roasted oysters and crabs were brought to them in a wooden platter. At ten o’clock on the day to which Hamor was specially referring, the hunters returned with a buck, several does, and a turkey cock, and the last remnant of these was devoured by the royal household
- ↑ For these different incidents, see Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 24, 25, 28, 31, 455.
